1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer data updating system and method, and more particularly to a sign-on logo image file updating system and a method for updating a sign-on image logo file in a computer and displaying the updated logo file.
2. Background of the Invention
A logo image file often referred to as a logo is stored in a computer's memory, and is displayed on a monitor screen when the computer system is turned on. The logo file is also known as a sign-on logo. In a typical personal computer, the sign-on logo is predetermined and stored in the computer's memory, and is displayed on the screen every time the computer is turned on. Since the sign-on logo is fixed prior to shipping of the new computer to a customer, users have no choice but to view the fixed sign-on logo whenever they power on the computer. Many users of the personal computers do not necessarily want to see the same sign-on logo all the time, and would like to change it freely and easily according to individual preference. For example, some consumers such as certain companies and private individuals may want to change the preset sign-on logo to a unique logo image of their own. For instance, a computer producer may want to change the sign-on logo to a new sign-on logo that displays the computer producer's own corporate logo.
To change a current sign-on logo image file, the user must store a designated format compressed graphical image in a random access memory (RAM) to update the current sign-on logo image, and restart the computer to initialize a power-on self test (POST) and display the graphical image during the POST. It is difficult for users to change the sign-on logo, since a modification of memory is required.
In endeavors to solve these problems, recent patents in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,441 B1 entitled Logo Display Apparatus for a Computer and the Method Thereof, issued on Jul. 31, 2001. This invention refers to a logo display device for a computer and the method thereof which allows a user to optionally select and display a logo image of a system's basic input output system (BIOS).
Although this patent provides several considerable advantages, a user often needs to enter a special interface when a computer initializes a POST, and manually update the sign-on logo during the POST. Then the user must repeat the POST to enter the computer's OS (operating system; such as Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Windows XP). This means that the user cannot change the sign-on logo while he/she is using the computer in the OS. Instead, he/she must restart the computer, which is unduly inconvenient.
Furthermore, many business and company users want to conveniently update sign-on logo images of a large number of local computers from a remote server through a network. The local computers are more easily and conveniently controlled by the remote server when they are running in the OS compared with when they are undergoing the POST.